|
on Economics of Happiness |
|
Issue of 2014‒12‒08
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Artz, Benjamin (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh); Goodall, Amanda H. (Cass Business School); Oswald, Andrew J. (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | Nearly all workers have a supervisor or 'boss'. Yet there is almost no published research by economists into how bosses affect the quality of employees' lives. This study offers some of the first formal evidence. First, it is shown that a boss's technical competence is the single strongest predictor of a worker's well-being. Second, we examine equivalent instrumental-variable results. Third, we demonstrate longitudinally that even if a worker stays in the same job and workplace then a newly competent supervisor greatly improves the worker's well-being. Finally, we discuss analytical possibilities, and consider necessary future research. |
| Keywords: | bosses, expert leaders, leadership, job satisfaction, happiness |
| JEL: | I31 J28 M54 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8559&r=hap |
| By: | Decancq, Koen (University of Antwerp); Neumann, Dirk (Université catholique de Louvain) |
| Abstract: | We discuss and compare five measures of individual well-being, namely income, an objective composite well-being index, a measure of subjective well-being, equivalent income, and a well-being measure based on the von Neumann-Morgenstern utilities of the individuals. After examining the information requirements of these measures, we illustrate their implementation using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for 2010. We find sizeable differences in the characteristics of the individuals identified as worst off according to the different well-being measures. Less than 1% of the individuals belong to the bottom decile according to all five measures. Moreover, the measures lead to considerably different well-being rankings of the individuals. These findings highlight the importance of the choice of well-being measure for policy making. |
| Keywords: | von Neumann-Morgenstern utility function, equivalent income, life satisfaction, composite well-being index, income, worst off, Germany |
| JEL: | D31 D63 I30 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8589&r=hap |
| By: | Beja, Edsel |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the gap between the level of an economy’s well-being and that of a people’s well-being as a measure of the overall economic ill-being in a society. In particular, it argues that such disparity is measurable using objective measures of and subjective measures for inflation and joblessness. The inflation rate in this regard signifies the affordability of goods and services; its subjective counterpart then indicates the sense of whether the people can actually afford goods and services or not. The joblessness rate meanwhile shows the extent to which there is no gainful employment; its subjective counterpart then represents the sense of being jobless as understood by the people. The results indicate that the overall economic ill-being in the Philippines did not change much even with robust economic growth in recent years. This finding unveils a scene that is different from that painted by official statistics from the country. |
| Keywords: | Economic ill-being; well-being; misery index, Philippines |
| JEL: | C43 D60 E24 E31 E66 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:59772&r=hap |
| By: | Aysenur Acar (Bahcesehir University Center for Economic and Social Research) |
| Abstract: | Over the past 20 years, poverty has conceived as a multidimensional issue, not only one-dimensional issue based on conventional indicators (i.e., income or expenditure). While a relatively huge literature has focused on the dynamic analysis of one-dimensional poverty, little attention has been given to the dynamics of multidimensional poverty. Using a panel data drawn from the Survey of Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in the years 2007-2010, this study focuses on the dynamics of multidimensional poverty in Turkey. The purposes of the study are twofold: the first is to identify “poor” in Turkey by proposing a multidimensional poverty measure that incorporates various dimensions closely related to the well-being of individuals (such as labor market, housing, health and living standards), and the second is to investigate how the new measure differs from other existing poverty measures (i.e., income poverty and EU material deprivation) by using random effect probit model. The findings show that the new measure is partially consistent with the other measures and multidimensional poverty decreased during the period under examination. Empirical work reveals that higher years of schooling, homeownership or being a rental/asset income recipient decreases the probability of being multidimensionally poor, while large household size, attachment to agricultural employment or being a social welfare income recipient increases the probability of being multidimensionally poor. |
| Keywords: | Multidimensional Poverty, Severe Material Deprivation, Relative Income Poverty |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bae:wpaper:014&r=hap |
| By: | Dörte Heger |
| Abstract: | Informal caregivers provide valuable services to elderly persons with long-term care needs, but the consequences of caregiving on caregivers are not yet fully understood. This paper illustrates the interrelation between caregiving and caregivers’ labour force participation, cognitive ability, and health in a simple theoretical model, and estimates the effects of caregiving using panel data from thirteen European countries, which allows to analyze the effect of institutions on caregivers’ outcomes. The results show that caregiving severely and signicantly reduces caregivers’ probability of being employed, but only in countries with few formal care alternatives. Furthermore, caregivers in all countries suffer from worse mental health when caregiving is prompted by poor parental health. The results for the effects of caregiving on physical health and cognitive ability are mixed. |
| Keywords: | Informal care; labour supply; cognitive ability; physical and mental health |
| JEL: | I12 J14 J18 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0512&r=hap |